Charging stations equipped with fire extinguishing equipment in residential community
Residents of Yingchun Garden in Taopu Town, Putuo District, had repeatedly reported issues to local authorities about their 1998-built community where 1024 households share 192 "mobile parking spaces." In recent years, as many residents purchased new energy vehicles, problems of "difficult pile installation" and "charging difficulties" became increasingly prominent. This led to illegal wire pulling and aerial charging, creating serious safety hazards. Could there be solutions to these persistent challenges? During on-site investigation, a newly issued guidance document emerged as the key to breaking through these difficulties.
**Inherent Deficiencies and Multiple Contradictions**
Yingchun Garden's "charging pain" reflects the situation of countless old residential communities. Built in 1998 with 1024 households, its inherent deficiencies became magnified after new energy vehicles gained popularity: the narrowest roads accommodate only single-vehicle passage, all 192 parking spaces are makeshift mobile spots making individual pile installation impossible; aging electrical circuits with saturated capacity led power companies to decline installation requests after site surveys; more challenging still, the community's new energy vehicles increased from fewer than 20 in 2020 to over 50, making "one pile hard to find" and leading to persistent complaints about illegal wiring and parking disputes.
"It's not that we don't want to install them, but we hit walls everywhere!" Car owner Ms. Chen attempted applications, visiting power companies, neighborhood committees, property management committees, and property companies multiple times, all blocked by "lack of fixed parking space certification." Later appeals for public charging stations faced a series of problems: would installing piles in public spaces turn them into personal "exclusive spots"? Who would be responsible for electrical overload fires? How would electricity fee revenues be distributed? Yingchun Garden Party Branch Secretary Ge Xiafang was initially at a loss facing these "different voices."
Various parties had their concerns: "What if we agree to install them and circuit breakers trip, causing community-wide complaints, or fires occur that property management can't handle?" Property management could only repeatedly decline residents' applications. The property committee organized three discussions, with supporting car owners saying it would "benefit everyone" while opposing residents worried about "taking up space and safety risks." Arguments led to no conclusions, with "no clear rules, not even knowing 'how to vote.'" After Taopu Town's judicial office intervened and researched, they categorized these difficulties into three points: property rights bottlenecks (no fixed parking spaces making private installation difficult), responsibility bottlenecks (various parties afraid of liability and passing the buck), and procedural bottlenecks (multi-department approvals without guidance). The key to unlocking these "deadlocks" was Putuo District's newly issued "Soft Law Guidance for Installing New Energy Electric Vehicle Public Charging Stations in Residential Communities" (hereinafter "the Guidance").
**Guidance Release Solves Three Difficulties**
In May this year, following completion of Yingchun Garden's comprehensive renovation project, road widening added over 50 ground parking spaces, providing physical space for installation. However, questions of "how to install, who manages, and who to find when problems arise" still lingered in residents' minds. Under Taopu Town's leadership, Yingchun Garden's "charging station project coordination task force" was formally established, with "proactive dispute resolution" becoming the top priority. The Guidance's release provided "standard answers" to these questions.
Though non-mandatory, this Guidance functions like a clear "operation manual," distilling Yingchun Garden's breakthrough experience into three major "standardized modules":
**● Framework Setting to Resolve "Responsibility Shirking"**
Addressing "property management fear of liability and property committees lacking tools," the Guidance establishes a four-tier coordination mechanism of "community Party organization—property committee—property management—third-party enterprises," clarifying each party's "responsibility list": neighborhood committees coordinate resources and mediate conflicts; property committees legally organize owner voting and manage charging revenues; property management handles daily patrols and order maintenance; third-party enterprises handle equipment construction and safety operations. "Now everyone has their role, what each should do and who to find for problems is crystal clear," Ge Xiafang explained. For charging station display malfunctions, residents contact property management, which immediately contacts third-party enterprises for repairs, with progress updates posted in owner groups, "transparent processes naturally reduce suspicions."
**● Clear Rules to Resolve "Interest Conflicts"**
"Installing public charging stations must also respect non-charging residents' opinions." The Guidance's "tiered voting" mechanism implements "whole-process people's democracy" practically. According to the Guidance: procedural matters like "establishing charging station working groups" only require "participating owners representing over 2/3 of total owners, with agreeing owners representing over 1/2 of participants" for passage, ensuring efficient project initiation; while core interest matters involving "converting public parking spaces" and "determining service fee distribution" must meet "participating owners representing over 2/3 of total owners, with agreeing owners representing over 3/4 of participants." This rule system enabled Yingchun Garden's owner assembly to successfully pass the proposal. Ge Xiafang recalled the final owner assembly passing with "participating owners representing 92% of total owners, with agreeing owners representing 88% of participants."
**● Process Clarification to Navigate "Approval Maze"**
Addressing residents' predicament of "exhausting themselves but still unable to get things done," the Guidance details complete installation process guidance: from "owner voting" to "power connection" to "fire safety acceptance," clearly specifying which departments to contact, what materials to prepare, and completion timeframes for each step. "Previously we didn't know who to find, now following the Guidance, third-party enterprises uniformly apply to power companies for dedicated line connections, residents don't need to visit departments themselves," said car owner Mr. Feng. During community installation, from application submission to power connection took less than two months, "without the Guidance, it would probably take another half year."
**Addressing Detailed Concerns**
"What about charging station location disturbances?" "How to address fire safety?" Facing these questions, the Guidance considered specific "details": charging stations must be equipped with fire extinguishing equipment, locations must avoid resident windows (reducing noise impact), even including suggestions for "how to mark charging space lines." "These details aren't imagined from thin air, the Guidance helped us anticipate possible conflicts," said Property Committee Director Huang Zhiyi. Community charging stations were ultimately located at east and west area edges, convenient for car owners while not affecting residents' rest, "all optimized following Guidance suggestions." Visiting Yingchun Garden, reporters observed fire extinguishing equipment installed beside each row of new charging stations.
**Solving Installation and Managing Operations**
Recently, through collective efforts, Yingchun Garden's 12 public charging stations officially began operation. However, Ge Xiafang and residents understand: "Adding piles is just the first step; managing well and lasting long truly solves the problem." The Guidance's value lies precisely in subsequent long-term management—it not only tells communities "how to install" but guides "how to manage."
Following the Guidance's requirement to "strengthen daily patrols and timely identify hazards," property management established a "daily patrol" system, immediately reporting problems in owner groups. For "fuel vehicle space occupation," the community adopted "first-come-first-served, property guidance" flexible governance, with property management assisting in contacting car owners when necessary and advocating staggered parking. "Although we need to take turns charging, it's much more convenient and effortless than driving outside the community to find charging stations. At 1.25 yuan per kWh, it's half the price outside and safer," car owner Mr. Feng said happily.
"Charging revenues must be publicly transparent, balancing public interests," following Guidance requirements, Yingchun Garden established clear pricing mechanisms: 1.25 yuan per kWh, with 0.1 yuan allocated to property committee public revenue accounts (50% supplements maintenance funds by agreement, earmarked for specific use), and 0.2 yuan for property patrol and cleaning costs. "Non-charging residents also benefit, gaining genuine support from everyone," Huang Zhiyi stated.
Meanwhile, Xuesong Garden, another old residential community, installed 155 charging stations in just three months—12 times Yingchun Garden's scale. Currently, the Guidance has been refined into "11 standard operational templates" covering everything from "owner voting" to "equipment acceptance," enabling other communities to "succeed by following the model."
"Previously we thought installing charging stations in old communities was 'impossible,' now with the Guidance, we dare to try," said a property committee member from another community. They are organizing owner discussions, "with clear processes and fair rules, residents have far fewer concerns."